(Olympics) N. Korean taekwondo head touched by joint demonstration

GANGNEUNG, South Korea, Feb. 10 (Yonhap) -- The head of North Korea's taekwondo governing body said Saturday he was touched by the joint demonstration by the two Koreas' athletes ahead of the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics a day earlier.

"My eyes were filled with tears after we became one," said Ri Yong-son, the president of North Korea's International Taekwondo Federation (ITF), during his visit to the promotional hall of the Italian National Olympic Committee.

Taekwondo athletes of the two Koreas staged a joint performance ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Games on Friday.

South Korea has a separate taekwondo governing body, the World Taekwondo (WT), which is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was the first time athletes of the two taekwondo bodies carried out a joint demonstration on an Olympic stage.

In August 2014, the WT and the ITF agreed on expanding exchanges, taking a step closer to potential participation of North Korean athletes in future Summer Games.

"It will happen in future. I am here to discuss that," Ri said, when asked about when North Korea will send taekwondo fighters to a Summer Olympics.

In June last year, the ITF also sent a demonstration team to the WT World Championships in Muju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul, for four performances. While South Korea also sought to send a taekwondo team to Pyongyang, the plan ended in vain amid the escalating tension on the Korean Peninsula.

"I am glad, as the vision of improving relationship between two Koreas and settling peace through taekwondo came through at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics," WT President Choue Chung-won said.

The North Korean taekwondo delegation currently in South Korea will carry out three more demonstrations before returning home Thursday.

colin@yna.co.kr
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